Netflix's new 'Wet Hot American Summer' show is completely absurd — and that's the best thing about it

The counselors of Camp Firewood reunite for the TV
prequel "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of
Camp."Netflix

When I first started watching "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day
of Camp," one of my first thoughts was ... 'this might be going
off the rails a bit, I think this story is losing some of the
realism of the source material.'

Then I remembered that the original movie its based
on features a talking can of vegetables.

"First Day of Camp," a new television follow up to the 2001
classic film "Wet Hot American Summer," is a prequel you didn't
need but also didn't realize that you really wanted. As long
as you are willing to be in on the joke, "First Day of Camp"
is a hilarious eight episode stretch in Netflix's crowded summer
of shows.

The "Wet Hot" comedy team has been working together
since meeting at NYU.Netflix

When "Wet Hot American Summer" first came out in 2001, it was a
critical and box office bomb. Thanks to a successful DVD release
and a lot of midnight showings, the comedy finally found the
audience that it deserved. Director David Wain, co-writer and
star Michael Showalter, and various cast members discussed a
possible sequel for years. Then, the chance to do a prequel TV
series on Netflix fell into their lap, and it seemed like the
next logical step for Camp Firewood.

The only challenge is that most of the cast is now well into
their 40s, making the possibility of playing a bunch of
16-year-olds even more challenging. Plus, "Wet Hot" is not the
kind of film that was begging for backstory. "First Day of
Camp" expertly uses everything working against it to its
advantage. Yes, it knows that all of these actors looks too old.
Yes, it knows that it is probably better if we don't know why a
can of vegetables can speak. But this is self-awareness at its
best.

"First Day of Camp" takes place before the events of
the movie, yet all the actors are now older.Netflix

Like its predecessor, "First Day of Camp" takes place over the
course of one day. This is even more of a challenge here, given
that this is eight half hour episodes as opposed to one 97 minute
feature. As the title suggests, the series takes place at the
beginning of the summer of 1981 at Camp Firewood. Even
though all of the actors (each one of them, even Oscar
nominated movie star Bradley Cooper, returned for the show) are
now older, they play characters who are younger than they were in
the film, which came out 14 years ago.

However, passage of time is both a recurring theme and a running
joke in the "Wet Hot" universe.

Think about the sequence from the film where the counselors
go into
town and slowly become drug addicts. It is revealed that
these events all transpired over the course of one hour. Over the
course of the first six episodes alone, there is a lavish
theatrical production, a wedding, and a government conspiracy. If
you've ever attended sleepaway camp, you might have noticed that
time moves at a much stranger pace when you're a kid away from
home for the first time. Three weeks can feel like three years.

While the movie still feels superior to "First Day of Camp,"
television works incredibly well for this story. Everything David
Wain and the rest of this comedy team works on, from "The State"
to "Stella" to "Wanderlust," is known for extended riffs that go
on for way too long, and somehow that is exactly what makes them
so funny. This medium allows for endless amounts of that.
"First Day of Camp," like the movie, is endlessly rewatchable not
because you'll miss jokes the first time around, but because
stuff that didn't seem funny at all somehow becomes hilarious on
a second, third, or fourth viewing.

Coop (Michael Showalter) awkwardly pursues Donna (Lake
Bell).Netflix

Also, it allows us spend even more time with these
characters and give them a little more depth even if they are
basically live action cartoons. It is funny to see a side of Andy
(Paul Rudd) where he actually has trouble getting the girl. It is
also good to know that Coop's (Michael Showalter) inability
to understand relationships will remain constant, whether it is
the first or last day of camp.

Meanwhile, the show also introduces a slew of new
characters to Camp Firewood. Wain makes a hilarious recurring
appearance as an Israeli camp counselor named Yaron, which would
seem stereotypical had it not reminded me of a majority of
counselors I once had at camp. Meanwhile, "Mad Men" star John
Slattery proves that he deserves a second life in comedy with his
performance as a theater director who somehow ends up supervising
a camp play while fellow "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm plays a
character who is much funnier the less you know about him.

"First Day of Camp" introduces a slew of new
characters. "Wet Hot" mastermind David Wain pops up as
Yaron.Netflix

Prequels and reboots are big nowadays.

They usually apply to the kind of blockbusters with an
expansive fictional universe, as opposed to comedies. There was
no reason to create a "Wet Hot American Summer" prequel.
Everybody involved takes full advantage of this. More
than one character is secretly revealed to have a completely
different identity than the one we once knew. In one of the
show's funniest scenes, one camper suddenly transforms into a
teenager in one second. It is the kind of mythology shattering
that once angered "Star Wars" fans.

However, the more you think about this, the more it makes
sense for this world. "Wet Hot" was never meant to be realistic,
and yet the enduring thing about it is the more surreal it
gets, the more relatable it can be. The fact that it is a
1980s period piece also helps make the case that this is a
timeless story. It is both very specific (the theater they all
sit in kept making me feel like I was watching a play back in my
summer camp days) and very general.

Camp Towanda
in Pennsylvania, where the original "Wet Hot" was filmed, was
re-created in California for the shoot of "First Day of
Camp."Netflix

"Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" is the product
of total creative freedom. Comedy
can still be great even when a joke falls flat, and when that
happens in "First Day of Camp,” it's still a wonder to
watch. The growing of this world makes it feel
even more welcoming and by the end, you will also feel like
you attended Camp Firewood, even though you never
did.

All eight episodes of "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day
of Camp" debut on Netflix on July 31.